General Information on
NEH Faculty Research Awards

2010-2011

The deadline for accepting 2010-2011 NEH Faculty Research Awards is February 26, 2010.

Part One of this document describes the terms and conditions governing NEH Faculty Research Awards.

Part Two provides specific information on term dates, stipends, and payment procedures and instructions for completing the acceptance form.

We welcome your questions and comments. You can contact the program staff by calling (202) 606-8200, by writing us at the address listed above, or by sending us e-mail at facultyresearch
@neh.gov. Because our regular mail deliveries are often delayed, we ask that you e-mail or fax your intention to accept or decline the award as soon as possible. Your paperwork may follow later.

PART ONE: TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AWARD

1. Time Commitment: You must complete your Faculty Research Award term within two years of the start date you choose. You are expected to devote full or half time to the funded project during your chosen periods of award activity. You may teach half time during your Faculty Research Award term. Awards are regarded as inactive when you are spending less than half time on your project and are not receiving NEH funds. During your term, you may also attend conferences related to your award and give presentations on it. If you are contemplating any additional activity during active periods, you must first consult with the NEH program staff to determine whether the proposed activity is permissible.
2. Project Changes: You may make minor changes in your proposed project without consulting the Endowment. However, any significant change must be approved in advance. You should describe and justify the changes to the Endowment in writing so that the Endowment can determine whether the new plans fall within the intent of the award.
3. Work Leading toward Degrees: Awards under this program are not intended to support graduate course work or completion of a master’s degree. Awards may, however, contribute to the completion of a doctoral dissertation.
4. Resignation or Termination: Your award may be terminated by the Endowment if, for any reason, you resign or discontinue the proposed program before the end of your fellowship term or fail to observe the award’s terms and conditions. If you resign before the end of your term, you must return any funds received over and above those to which you are entitled.

If during the course of your award you are unable to meet the terms of the award, then you are obliged to inform the Endowment immediately so that appropriate action may be taken. Because stipend payments are made in advance, it may be determined that a portion of the stipend must be returned to the Endowment; if this is the case, the Endowment will inform you of the amount that must be repaid, the basis for the calculation, and the date by which repayment must be made.

5. Final Report: Final Report: You must submit a final report on activities accomplished with your NEH award. This report should be submitted electronically via “eGMS,” the NEH’s online grant management system at https://securegrants
   .neh.gov/eGMS
.
6. Prohibition on the Use of Funds for Lobbying Activities: Prohibition on the Use of Funds for Lobbying Activities: The Byrd Anti-Lobbying Amendment, 31 U.S.C. 1352, prohibits recipients of federal contracts, awards, cooperative agreements, and loans from using appropriated funds to influence the Executive or Legislative Branches of the federal government in connection with a specific contract, award, cooperative agreement, loan, or any other award covered by §1352. 18 U.S.C. 1913 makes it a crime to use funds appropriated by Congress to influence members of Congress regarding congressional legislation or appropriations. Finally, the following are unallowable charges to award funds or cost sharing: certain electioneering activities, financial support for political parties, attempts to influence federal or state legislation either directly or through grass-roots lobbying, and some legislative liaison activities.

   The NEH is required by the provisions of its appropriations act to include the text of 18 U.S.C. 1913 in all of its award, cooperative agreement, and contract documents.

   Text of 18 U.S.C. 1913:

   No part of the money appropriated by any enactment of Congress shall, in the absence of express authorization by Congress, be used directly or indirectly to pay for any personal service, advertisement, telegram, telephone, letter, printed or written matter, or other device, intended or designed to influence in any manner a Member of Congress, a jurisdiction, or an official of any government, to favor, adopt, or oppose, by vote or otherwise, any legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation, whether before or after the introduction of any bill, measure, or resolution proposing such legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriation; but this shall not prevent officers or employees of the United States or of its departments or agencies from communicating to any such Member or official, at his request, or to Congress or such official, through the proper official channels, requests for any legislation, law, ratification, policy, or appropriations which they deem necessary for the efficient conduct of the public business, or from making any communication whose prohibition by this section might, in the opinion of the Attorney General, violate the Constitution or interfere with the conduct of foreign policy, counter-intelligence, intelligence, or national security activities. Violations of this section shall constitute violations of section 1352(a) of title 31.

7. Research Misconduct: NEH will take appropriate action against individuals or organizations upon a determination that misconduct has occurred in proposing, performing, or reviewing research or reporting results from research activities funded by NEH in accordance with the NEH Research Misconduct Policy. The policy is posted on the NEH website at www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/researchmisconduct.html..
8. Publishing as a Result of Your NEH Award: Although there is no formal requirement that you publish the results of your investigations, most recipients intend to do so. You may copyright any material produced as a result of award activities, and you may make the results of your work available to the public without restriction.

   All materials publicizing or resulting from activities accomplished under an award (e.g., books or articles) must contain an acknowledgment of NEH support. The acknowledgment must also include the following statement: “Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this (publication) (program) (website) do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.”

   For NEH We The People Projects: Recipients of awards designated as We The People projects may also choose to acknowledge this recognition.

   One copy of all award products should be forwarded to NEH soon as they are available, no matter how long after grant completion the publication may appear.

9. Medical Insurance and Other Fringe Benefits: The Endowment provides neither medical insurance nor any other fringe benefits for awardees. It is therefore recommended that you continue the benefit programs in which you are participating. Unemployment compensation and Social Security insurance are not covered because recipients are not employees of the U.S. Government.
10. Income Tax: The tax laws governing awards were amended by the Tax Reform Act of 1986, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the courts decide the extent to which a particular award is taxable. The Endowment does not withhold taxes from stipends. Neither does the Endowment send to recipients an IRS form W-2 or IRS form 1099. You should familiarize yourself with the tax laws to determine the tax liability of your award and whether you are entitled to deduct any expenses in connection with it. The IRS has not advised the Endowment concerning tax treatment of awards, and NEH cannot provide tax advice or answers to tax questions.
11. Activities Outside the United States: Prior to undertaking activities outside the United States, recipients shall secure the necessary passports, visas or other required documents for entry into foreign countries. Recipients shall also obtain the appropriate licenses, permits, or approvals. The recipient must notify the NEH if a permit is denied or revoked after an award has been issued, or if an unforeseen circumstance, such as a natural disaster or political turmoil, threatens or prevents the recipient from carrying out project activities.
    

    The NEH does not assume responsibility for recipient compliance with the laws and regulations of the country in which work is to be conducted.

    Recipients should consult the updated travel advisories and warnings issued by the State Department through the American Citizens Services at 202-647-5225 or fax service 202-647-3000 or at the State Department’s Web site.

The acceptance form is used to accept an NEH Faculty Research Award, identify the account into which your stipend payments will be deposited, and indicate the exact term dates of your award. You should retain a copy of the completed form for your records and notify the program whenever you make modifications to the arrangements agreed to by the Endowment. The acceptance form must include the following information:

1. Application Number:Your application number, a combination of a two-letter prefix (HR) plus five digits, can be found on your offer letter.
2. Name
3. Social Security Number
4. Mailing Address, Home and Office Phone Numbers, and E-Mail Address
5. Faculty Research Award Term Dates:Please note that your Faculty Research Award term must begin on the first day of your chosen first month and end on the last day of your chosen final month. Indicate the month and year in which you will begin your fellowship term and the month and year in which you will end your term. You may start any month during the 19-month window from January 2010 through July 2011. Remember that you must complete your Faculty Research Award term within two years of the initial month you choose.

   The final amount of the stipend is based on the number of months of your term. For each full month of your term, NEH provides $4,200. Thus, a fellowship for 12 months carries a stipend of $50,400 ($4,200 x 12 months). The term dates you provide on the acceptance form may differ from the dates you originally requested in your application. While you may not increase the length of your term beyond your original request, you may, however, decrease the length of your term. Please be certain of the term dates you enter on the acceptance form so that no changes will be required later.

   Your award term may be continuous or divided, and during your term you may choose full time or half time commitment to your project. All award periods must be a minimum of 6 months of full-time work (or the equivalent) and may not exceed 12 months of full-time work (or the equivalent).

Continuous term: You may choose a continuous term if you plan to begin and end your award period without interruption. If you will have no concurrent commitments during this period, then you will be active on your grant full time. A continuous full-time term must be devoted to full-time work on the project and may not include a teaching assignment or any other major activity. If you have a concurrent, essential activity that cannot be relinquished while you are holding your award, then you will be active on your grant half time. No other major activity may be undertaken other than that finally agreed on between NEH and the recipient. Two whole months working half time on a project are equivalent to one whole month working full time.

Divided term: The Faculty Research Awards Program is designed to allow its recipients flexibility during their fellowship terms. Thus, you may choose to divide your term into distinct periods of work. For example, if you requested 10 months in your application, you could request a full-time period from May through August (4 months of full-time work), half-time from September through December (equivalent of 2 months of full-time work), inactive from January through April, and full-time again from May through August (4 months of full-time work). NEH encourages you to construct a term that works best for your particular circumstances, following these two rules: 1) you are permitted only one "break" period during the span of your award, and 2) each segment of your award period must be for at least 3 contiguous months. Parts of a divided award can be either full or half time, but the periods spent on the grant must be the equivalent of 6 to 12 months of full-time work. Bear in mind that you must complete your award term within two years of your initial month.

The acceptance form includes a worksheet for plotting your award term. Be sure to account for the entire term you have selected, listing separately periods of activity and inactivity. Periods should be listed chronologically. This information will be used to establish a payment schedule for your entire term, so accuracy is important. Payment schedules will cover only periods of award activity.

While you may hold other fellowships (e.g., sabbaticals and supplemental grants) or grants during your Faculty Research Award term, you may not hold other awards from the NEH Division of Research Programs during the fiscal or calendar year or years in which you hold an NEH Faculty Research Award.

6. How would you like the stipend paid? Faculty Research Awards are paid in installments and prorated according to the term length. Typically, the first payment is made at the beginning of the term period and subsequent payments are made every third month through the fellowship term. The payment schedule and amounts for your particular award will be provided with the letter officially making the award.

   All payments are made electronically by the U.S. Treasury Department and can be deposited either in your bank account or in your employing institution’s bank. Please indicate the option you prefer. Please choose only one.

   • Payments electronically deposited into your checking or savings account using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system. If you choose this option, you must supply NEH with either your bank’s ACH routing information or a voided check (a deposit slip is not acceptable) when you return your acceptance form.
   • Payments electronically deposited into an account of your employing institution also using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system. Some institutions are willing to continue paying fringe benefits if payments are made through them. If you think that this opportunity is available to you, please consult with your employing institution and complete the bank transit information.
   Please note that payments cannot be sent to foreign addresses or deposited in non-U.S. banks..
7. Do you need your first payment early? You may receive your first payment 30 days before your term begins if, for example, you anticipate major travel expenses early in your term. However, no payment can be made before January 1, 2010.
8. Do you need a larger first payment? If you have particularly high initial expenses, you may receive a larger first payment to cover them.
9. Acceptance and Certification: You must accept or decline the offer of a 2010-2011 NEH Faculty Research Award not later than February 26, 2010. To accept the award, you must complete and submit the acceptance form by this deadline.